Why it Matters Where Your Organization's Data is Stored

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Quick, if we asked you on the spot where the data for your company is stored, would you know? Is it in the building, down the street or in another country? Where it is stored is very important for your business and the first step is knowing where it is.

For many North American companies who are online or living in the cloud, the big data is stored in the United States.

But did you know that In the United States, the USA PATRIOT Act allows law enforcement officials, for the purpose of an anti-terrorism investigation, to seek a court order that allows access to the personal records of anyone without their knowledge. In short, they don't really need a reason to go through your data. For any organization who has experienced this, you know that it is costly, time-consuming and generally unpleasant.

Under the Act, U.S. officials can access information about citizens of other countries, including Canada, if that information is physically within the United States.

Why is this information important to you and your organization?

In Canada, we have a couple more checks and balances and generally a better privacy law, which can be a competitive advantage to your organization. Our privacy law has also been deemed "adequate" by the European Union, which greatly makes it easier for European companies to store their data in Canada compared to the US.

Canada's privacy has long been considered a fundamental right and the Canadian government is committed to the protection of Canadians' privacy.

Do keep in mind that Canada does have an equivalent of the USA PATRIOT Act in the Canadian Anti-terrorism Act, which was passed in December 2001. You can learn more about this here.

So what does it all mean? US data storage versus Canada? It basically means that in Canada you have greater legal control over who can access it.

The reason we are bringing this up is, SimplyCast will be launching a Canadian Data Center very soon which means all clients will be able to choose where their data is stored.

With SimplyCast operating out of Nova Scotia, Canada, we feel it is only right that we offer data storage in our own back yard.

Either in the United States or Canada. We have had many requests for Canadian data storage, so this is a very exciting launch.

Currently, when you host your data with us, we store it all on secure servers located in the United States.

Once the Canadian Data Center is live, your privacy is guaranteed and no one from any country can view it without your permission.

So, now that you have probably looked into where your data is stored, do you see why it matters where your organization's vital data is stored?